I'm trying to get my 6 year old to learn his letter sounds. Any advice?

my son has a slight slur in is speech and he gets frustrated cause he can't say his letter sound like the rest of his class mates he gets them back wards or for example "T A P" he will say the letters perfect but putting the word together he puts in a extra letter like l or he will say tapel or something to that affect please help don't know what else to do they want him to go back to kindergarten

Expert

What the Expert Says:

It is important that you first set up a meeting with your son's teacher to determine what exactly she is seeing in the classroom. One of the roles of your child’s school is to provide any services that your son needs to help him best learn.

If he hasn't had a speech-language evaluation, talk to the teacher about having him evaluated by the school speech-language pathologist. She will be able to look at the sounds he's having difficulty pronouncing to determine if he needs speech therapy. He may also need extra help in learning to put the sounds of the letters together to begin to read.

Ask if your school has a reading specialist who could evaluate him and give him extra help if he needs it. If there is not a reading specialist at the school, talk to the teacher about what can be done in the classroom and at home to help him learn these pre-reading skills.

Hopefully, your son's teacher will be helpful and supportive in working with you to determine what needs to happen to best support him. You may also find it useful to set up a meeting with the teacher and the principal to create a plan to help your son.

Remember, you know your son better than anyone, and you are always the best advocate for him.